View full sizeDavid Patton/Albany Democrat-HeraldMembers of Linn County search and rescue load some of the marijuana plants seized by sheriff deputies from a forest near Lyons in 2007.

Not everyone uses recreation lands for honest activities.

As the outdoor season heats up, it's important to keep in mind that remote public and private lands have increasingly been used to illegally cultivate marijuana.

Mexican-backed drug trafficking organizations, according to a Bureau of Land Management law officer, have been a public menace for a number of years, primarily by illegally growing and defending patches of marijuana.

The problem originated in California but has spread throughout the West.

Already this year, law enforcement has raided an illegal plantation of 91,000 marijuana plants in a rugged part of Wallowa County in northeast Oregon. Six men were arrested in the raid.

Last year, 39,000 marijuana plants were eradicated from public lands in the state and Oregon recorded its first shooting at a grow site on BLM land. The incident resulted in the death of one suspect, a Mexican national, in southern Oregon's Jackson County.

Closer to Portland, the U.S. Forest Service reported that 20,000 marijuana plants were removed two years ago in a joint operation on Mount Adams Ranger District and Yakama Nation lands.

Three years ago, 6,200 plants were removed from the Dufur Ranger District of the Mount Hood National Forest.

Most recreation on public land typically occurs in areas with repeat visitor use, making such locations unattractive for illegal marijuana patches.

But those who wander off trail, such as hunters or mushroom pickers, have a greater chance to encounter illegal grow patches.

Marijuana grow operations occur even in desert canyons of southeast Oregon, provided a water source can be diverted to the site.

A BLM law enforcement officer in Portland, who asked to remain anonymous, offered some advice for recreationists on how to avoid conflicts.

Signs of illegal grow operations include:

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Black irrigation pipe and fencing where there shouldn't be any.

• An occupied area, off the beaten track, with fertilizer bags and starting cups for plants.

• Reconfigured surface water flows, accompanied by the limbing of trees to allow more sunlight to reach the ground.

• Signs of a camp, with sleeping and cooking areas, and propane bottles to avoid detection of wood smoke.

Anyone who sees such evidence should immediately leave the area. A brief pause to take a global positioning system reading is OK, but do not try to inventory the garden.

Report sightings to 9-1-1, or to a uniformed public employee. County sheriff's departments will coordinate with land owners for further investigation.
Domestic cultivation of marijuana, according to law enforcement estimates, exceeds what comes across the border by about three times.

Law enforcement first attempted to stop distribution by tightening ports and borders, which caused drug cartels to move stateside and set up deep in the forest.
The objective now is to get growing off public land and into indoor operations, where it's easier to find and prosecute.